"QUANTUM SHOT" #326 Travelogue by Patryk Pawel Moriak, Link
Historical Crossroad Between Eastern and Western Cultures
Welcome our contributing travel writer Patryk Pawel Moriak. For Patryk "traveling means something more than just nature or landscapes. It gives opportunity to admire beautiful architecture, meet interesting people, see specific wild life and uncommon events, different in every part of the world." Here is the abridged version of his travelogue from the recent journey across Turkey:
Turkey has always fascinated both me and my girlfriend. We've heard that each area of the country has its own spirit, history, landscape and even cuisine. With its wonderful nature, cultural mix and a 10,000 years-old heritage, much of which is still being uncovered, Turkey has so much to offer that it is not surprising one trip there is never enough.
Oludeniz' Lagoon, near Fethiye
We don't usually use travel agents to organize our trips. Arranging things on our own is an opportunity to better feel the spirit and atmosphere of the places we visit. We bought the return tickets from London to Istanbul for a three-week trek across the most interesting and famous places in Turkey:
Istanbul - Izmir - Selcuk - Efez - Dilek National Park - Pammukale - Fethiye - Saklikent Gorge - Olu Deniz - Antalya - Termessos - Kapadokya - Istanbul.
We only used the public transport and slept in inexpensive hotels or hostels. Make sure to try Turkey's fantastic cuisine: self-catering is not a good idea since you can dine in restaurants serving very good, hot meals for the price of supermarket food.
Istanbul: part Asia, part Europe
Hagia Sophia - one of the greatest surviving examples of Byzantine architecture. It was the largest cathedral for 1,000 years up until the completion of the cathedral in Seville.
The Fountains at the Church of Hagia Sophia
Across from Hagia Sophia is another prominent landmark of the city - The "Blue Mosque" of Sultan Akhmed, completed in 1616. It is considered to be the greatest masterpiece of Ottoman and Islamic architects who wanted to demonstrate that their buildings can rival anything their Christian predecessors had created:
The "Blue Mosque" of Sultan Akhmed
Travel tip:: The best way to get to the city centre from the airport for a reasonable price is not to listen to any taxi drivers or private tourist informations and go straight to the subway terminal. For 2 tickets for 1,30 New Turkish Lira each, you will get to the Sultanahmed where the biggest attractions of the city are waiting for you.
Splendid Coastline
One of the most beautiful places I've seen in Turkey, Dilek Yarimadasi National Park is located in the region of Kusadasi and Soke, in the province of Aydin. The park can be reached via the Kusadasi – Soke highway. As the weather was fantastic we took a motorbike from Selcuk and spent a great time in the park.
The northern side of the park has plants rarely seen in the Mediterranean region. There are many bays and chestnut trees, and it is the only area where the Finike juniper and pirnal oaks can be found together. Mediterranean seals and sea turtles have breeding grounds on these shores, and one can enjoy walking, water sports and picnics for eight months of a year from April to December, and go swimming throughout the summer months.
You can walk among the linden and chestnut trees, cycle through pine woods, go rock climbing, or fishing for example. Among many rare and endangered bird species which can be seen in the park are the Dalmatian pelican and pygmy cormorant, and if you are lucky you may catch a glimpse of wild horses.
Calcium-ridged pools look like ice
Pammukkale was the next stop for us after having a great time in Dilek National Park and Ephesus. This place is well-known for its white calcium ridged pools on one side of the mountain.
One of the most popular (and cheapest) tourist sites in the world
At last we left Selcuk and took a bus to the south. We stayed in Fethiye which is located 135 kms southwest of Marmaris - a pretty town at the hillsides of the Mount Mendos. Mendos is the part of the Taurus Mountain chain, formed by rises and falls of the crust during the Tertiary Geological Period. Hundreds of picturesque bays follow each other along the Fethiye shoreline. This are is one of the most popular touristic sites in the world (and one of the cheapest).
Oludeniz is situated just a 20 minutes drive from Fethiye and has an astonishing crystal-clear lagoon and a beautiful photogenic grey-white beach that adorns almost every Turkish travel brochure.
Travel tip: When planning your trip to Fethiye and surrounding area, try to visit these places: Araxa - with its water spring, Letoon - a holy city, the ancient city of Cadianda, Telmessos, Likya Rocky Tombs, Fethiye Castle, Ölüdeniz (Blue Lagoon) referred as "The Eden bestowed by God to World", Kelebekler Vadisi (Butterfly Valley), Saklıkent (Hidden City), fantastic beaches and much more...
Many people recommended us to visit Saklikent Gorge, near Toros, between Fethiye and Kas. It's called "The Hidden Valley" and is well known as the longest and deepest gorge in Turkey - 18 km long and so steep and narrow that the sun can not reach the water, leaving it deliciously icy-cold in the summer. You feel almost like on a different planet among high rocks, walking across the natural style bridge and along the canyon path. You can also take a mud bath. Just be careful with your equipment :-)
Travel tip: It's not easy to explore the mountains located around as there is not many footpaths, but you can get a great point of view of this amazing place if you fancy para-gliding. It's not the cheapest way of spending time in Olu Deniz, but from the height of 2000 metres over the Blue Lagoon where the flights begin, you will get the best point-of-view for your shots.
"Machu Picchu" of Turkey
Our next stop was the city of Antalya - pretty impressive, but we couldn't wait to see one of the best preserved ancient cities of Turkey, Termessos.
This mysterious place lies at an altitude of 1050 metres in the Taurus Mountains. Unfortunately Termessos is not accessible directly by local transport. The most comfortable way to get there is to rent a car. If you're not afraid of 9 km walk, then take an Antalya-Korkuteli bus, and take off at the road junction to Termessos. The walk takes about 2 hours at a steady pace. It's not so tiring even with another 20 minutes steep hike up to the ruins.
Cappadocia's Rock City
We arrived in Goreme at 4.00am after a long trip from Antalya. Before exploring the amazing rocky formations we decided to have a quick look into the nearest valley. Luckily we managed to get there a few minutes before sunrise so I had enough time to set up the camera on the tripod and find some interesting details in a foreground.
The view was incredible specially when loads of balloons started appearing on the horizon:
The natural rock citadel of Uchisar which you can see in the very back is the tallest point in Cappadocia, visible for a great distance from the region's other towns such as Urgup and Avanos. This shot was taken from the top of Goreme. You will find there hotels, inns, rental houses and hostels, some of them with cave rooms, but the main reason visitors go there is to climb to the top of the tall rock outcrop via tunnels and enjoy the spectacular panoramic view, the best view of Cappadocia except for that which you get from a hot-air balloon.
We thank Turkey for its beauty, wilderness, culture, sunshine, perfectly clear water, hospitality and cuisine. The trip brought us new experiences, memories and gave us a much better idea of what an amazing country it really is.
------------------
Also worth mentioning is Patrick's spell-binding photographs of Scotland:
In response to "anonymous" who made the comment that "most of the sites are Greek...": Why can't you just enjoy the beauty of nature and history without delving into politics and silly nationalism?
Well said Omer - re: the anonymoue comment about who a place "belongs to". That's why there are people who will always have a cause for war. For the rest of those who are intelligent enough to just enjoy the beauty, we're grateful. ..Tigerlily
During the Athenian Empire, the whole coastline of the Aegean was Greek, but during the Byzantine Empire (Greek empire of the Middle Ages) most of the coast of the Mediterranean was considered Greece. That includes all of Italy, areas of North Africa, all of Turkey including Istanbul the then capital of the empire. So for you to say that Turkey took settlements from the Greeks is inaccurate. The fact is that the whole Mediterranean area is filled with the remnants of many long gone empires. The Turks aren't the only people that have Greek structures in their country, check out Taromina in Italy. You should also research the population exchange between Turkey and Greece in the 1920's. It left awesome ghost towns in (Kayakoy)
That mini tank is a prototype. It's intended to be used for crowd control in the case of riots. The short pipes at the front are smoke grenade launchers, just some off the shelf parts shared with MBT's. The launchers at the sides are teargas guns. I'm not sure about gun mounted at the top, but it looks like a high caliber gun for rubber bullets.
I think that martial arts technique is from Kung Fu, not Aikido. I gather this from the text under the pictures. Aikido is generally a non-violent martial art that redirects an opponent's energy, rather than using strikes such as this.
I believe that the footage of the people playing "soccer" in the Radar dish is actually of people playing cricket. You can even see the wicket in the photo
No such compilation should go without at least one nod to Dr. Harold Edgerton, who was the first to reveal the beauty frozen in an instant of time. The first "milk drop crown" photo in existence is one that he made.
The fourth picture in the "High-speed photography group" isn't a photography. It is a digitally rendered image. Source: http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper/details.php?id=660
Doc Edgerton was a master, brilliant inventor, and by all accounts, a warm and generous individual. His name will always be associated with this kind of work. But, in fairness, A. M. Worthington published a book of high-speed photographs of splashes in 1908. The large portion of his work was done in the late 1800's.
Great article, but you overlooked a great site ironically called Liquidartgallery.com. There are some amazing images there by michael melgar. I first saw some of his photos on dpreview but his gallery is excellent.
High speed photography always fascinated me. The above pictures are a true inspiration.
I constructed a timer for high speed photography that allows me to trigger a flash or or a camera shutter. I was able to capture water drops, popping balloons and shuttering light bulbs without much trouble.
all fantastic images. Would be nice if you can check out my website to see some of my water drop shots. http://www.ultimatedream.co.uk/gallery/still/still.html or http://www.flickr.com/photos/21583791@N06/
The pig-thing is for fixing an animal (usually cows / pigs) while cutting their hoofs/claws. On the swiss countryside (where I live), the "Klauenschneider" (claw-cutter) is a common profession - a man with a device as on the picture mounted on a trailer moving from farm to farm!
To cpcat: yes, it so. This is Siberia. Europian part of Russia end on Ural'skie mountain, and begin asian part Russia. In Ekaterinburg there is a line, on the one hand which is written the Europe, and with another Asia
Siberian roads are prob the best to test which production vehicles are the true '4x4.' Interewesting to see a hummer, range rover and land rover to test it out.
You can find more about the six legged machine with google and timberjack. It's a wood harvester. Here's a video of the harvester in action : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD2V8GFqk_Y
The monster shown from Cloverfield is actually a fan made concept unfortunately: http://cloverfieldclues.blogspot.com/2007/09/fan-made-cloverfield-monster-art.html
The "Russian" helicopter stunts aren't Russian at all. The first and third are of RAF Westland Lynx, one of the fastest most manoeuvrable helicopters in production. The second is Armée de l'Air Eurocopters. Both Air forces have helicopter demonstration teams.
The third pic was fairly recent - winter 2005 or 2006 in a midwestern US city - I believe it was Chicago. The plane slid off the runway in snow. A six year-old passenger in one of the cars on the street was killed.
The sea-harrier was flown by Sub-Lt 'Soapy' Watson of the Royal Navy on 6 June 1983. He had a radio defect and couldn't get back to the carrier HMS Illustrious, so he landed on the only available flatish object he could find. The owners and captain of the boat got 340,000 pounds in salvage awards but the Royal Navy got back a 7 million pound aircraft rather than losing it and a very-expensively trained pilot.
The Super Guppy was based off of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, of World War II fame. Technically it was based off of a B-50, but a B-50 was just a B-29 airframe with turboprop engines instead of conventional piston mills.
"The third pic was fairly recent - winter 2005 or 2006 in a midwestern US city - I believe it was Chicago. The plane slid off the runway in snow. A six year-old passenger in one of the cars on the street was killed."
This accident occurred at Chicago's Midway Airport. The 737 landed on a runway that was too short for the weather conditions, especially when you consider the breaking action that day on an icy runway and the tailwind that was present. The landing should have never been attempted.
The first is Royal Army Lynx, and second is Indian Army Sarang Display team, with their Peacock colors (check it out, the chopper is made in India, HAL Dhruv) and the third chopper is Royal Navyl Lynx.
The third one, as others pointed out, was Chicago. It happened at Midway Airport Dec 1 2005. I remember it well as I got caught in the snow storm, which was pretty bad even for Chicago standards. Midway is notorious for having short run ways, but they concluded that it was pilot error.
The Super Guppy was based on a Boeing 377/C-97 Stratoliner, which just is a cousin to the B-29/B-50 series.
There was a series of outsize-cargo haulers by Aero Spacelines in the group, including the Mini Guppy, Pregnant Guppy, and Super Guppy (piston and turbine).
Regarding the link about the interesting take on social media, whoever created that page is a dumbass.
They claim that users who install ad-blocking software (such as Adblock Plus, which I have installed and recommend to everyone) "infringes on the rights of web site owners."
That's complete bullshit. Web users can do whatever they want to to either enhance or detract from their browsing experience. The only way it would be infringing is if the web user had agreed to a contract to click on the ads, and I have never done that on any site I have been on.
The creator of that website also claims that web users who don't click on ads are "stealing bandwidth." That is more bullshit. I wonder why that guy is running that site? Oh, to make money, you say? Well guess what, just because his greedy ass doesn't make as much money as he wants doesn't mean that web surfers are "stealing" anything from him. Unless he runs a site that requires people who view it to click on the ads via a contractual agreement, then not clicking on ads is a personal choice, not an illegal action.
I wonder if he believes that people who purchase goods from a cheap merchant as opposed to an overpriced merchant are "stealing" from the overpriced merchant.
What a dumbass. If he offers a way to make money off of his web traffic, and people don't give him money, that isn't their fault. If you don't like running a website, or aren't making enough money off of it, just shut it down. Don't make illogical and dumbass statements.
Very cool! I have 40-50 old Perry Rhodans and have long thought it would be great to scan them and share them with the internets. Maybe someday. Thanks for sharing!
The one by Ed Emshwiller, with the guy in a red space suit and the girl holding a doll behind him, not suited up, with the lunar landscape visible outside, lookes like an illustration I've never seen before for Heinlein's "Have SPacesuit, Will Travel."
It looks to me like Kip and Peewee with Madame Pompadour.
Very nice illustrations. Interesting to note Soviet symbols (flags, stars, etc.) figure prominently in some of the artwork. Nevertheless I suspect not a few Soviet artists were drawn to science fiction since it provided a respite from dreary socialist realism and also a chance to cover normally forbidden subjects (note that several of the magazine covers were produced during the 1930's-1950's, while Stalin was in power).
Noel Sickles for "Rocket to the Moon", 1949; pretty decent look at cramped conditions in such a rocket.
"To Other Worlds!", Detgiz, Russia, 1939 - Is that the moon? Again, no obvious problems with it. The craters are done well.
"Mars Snooper" by Frank Tinsley, 1959 - Has nothing to do with Mars. The planet, or moon, in the sky doesn't look like Mars or Deimos or Phobos. The planet in the foreground has channels - which might make it Mars, viewed at night.
(Perry Rhodan, Jan. 1962) - ah yes, the old jungle volcanic Venus. Clark Ashton Smith had a couple of 'em. So did Asimov. At least they were right about the volcanos. "The air you breathe is a poisonous flame, not with ten thousand men could you do this"
(TM cover, Russia 1954) - A non-Titan moon of Saturn. Rhea? Dione? Those midsized moons have large cracks in 'em. So far this gets my "realism" award (the Moon-shots being disqualified because - well, everyone knew what going to the Moon would be like). Mind you I don't know the moons' axial tilt vs. Saturn's ecliptic.
art by Nikolai Nedbailo - looks more like "art from FiendFolio". That is a lot of ugly.
"First Contact", by Nikolai Nedbailo - Nedbailo takes three tabs of acid, grabs a paintbrush.
The picture of the painting by Art Emshwiller is cover art to Robert Heinlein's 1958 novel Have Spacesuit, Will Travel, showing Kip Russel in the foreground with Peewee in the background. It was the cover art for the August 1958 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, where the serialization of the novel appeared.
Did anyone else notice that the back cover art for ELO's album Out of the Blue looks a lot like Klaus Burgle's work? Anyone know if there's a connection?
The second picture after "Bigger Moon base," showing the Earth in the sky, a tall rocket, and a streamlined Moon crawler, looks to me like the style of Alex Schomburg.
Actually, one of those isn't a "classic" - it was my first piece I ever did in Photoshop, must be about 12 years ago now. It's the one with the rocket on the moon with the open hatch and the moon buggy in the foreground. I've always been meaning to redo it.
Loved these pix but am really surprised, given the time they were done, that there wasn't more in the way of propagandizing Soviet Russia's logos and imagery on the space vehicles...e.g., red stars or CCCP on the spaceships, etc.
Does anybody else remember seeing a series of ads by BF Goodrich in Reader's Digest around, I don't know, early 1970s maybe? They had some quite futuristic pictures, featuring vehicles with amazing fat tyres, that left me quite impressed at that tender age.
i actually owned some of these magazines! in soviet union they were sure they will be able to land and live on mars by 1980 ( i was sure about that too when i was a kid :D )
"TM cover, Russia 1954 - A non-Titan moon of Saturn. Rhea? Dione?" Thanks, I wouldn't have known how to put it. But is it only me who thinks it a bit odd that there are three people in the picture wearing suits - perhaps suggesting a non-breathable atmosphere - and yet the camera crew are standing there happily without so much as an oxygen tank and helmet? What's going on there?
"QUANTUM SHOT" #326
|
SFSite
13 Comments:
I wouldn't have imagined Turkey to be that beautiful. It is a definite spot for me to see in the near future :)
_denise
I make a living in Forex - http://www.chapter322.biz/forex-investing
Most of the sites you describe are Greek and were taken by the Turks - they merely preserved it to have revenue from tourism.
I visited Antalya in the Navy in '89. We had no idea what to expect, but were pleasantly surprised.
None of the sites described here are Greek. They are preserved because they are history.
heavenly!!!!
In response to "anonymous" who made the comment that "most of the sites are Greek...": Why can't you just enjoy the beauty of nature and history without delving into politics and silly nationalism?
Omer Yagiz
"Love is in the air, and just about everywhere else"
Muy buenas. You should see turkish houses when u come to Turkey.
Well said Omer - re: the anonymoue comment about who a place "belongs to". That's why there are people who will always have a cause for war.
For the rest of those who are intelligent enough to just enjoy the beauty, we're grateful.
..Tigerlily
During the Athenian Empire, the whole coastline of the Aegean was Greek, but during the Byzantine Empire (Greek empire of the Middle Ages) most of the coast of the Mediterranean was considered Greece. That includes all of Italy, areas of North Africa, all of Turkey including Istanbul the then capital of the empire. So for you to say that Turkey took settlements from the Greeks is inaccurate. The fact is that the whole Mediterranean area is filled with the remnants of many long gone empires. The Turks aren't the only people that have Greek structures in their country, check out Taromina in Italy. You should also research the population exchange between Turkey and Greece in the 1920's. It left awesome ghost towns in (Kayakoy)
http://www.patrykmoriak.com
Feel free to visit my personal website for more views from Turkey and other countries.
Many thanks for your interest and support!
There are many of the beautiful places over in Turkey, it very nice to get relax and spend vacation over there. Best Regards,
Kudos! Magnificent photos...
I have been to Turkey a couple of times and it is a truly beautiful country. Great food if you can escape the tourist traps and friendly people.
Post a Comment
<< Home